AMD's CES 2014 Press
Conference Webcast Replay is online, letting us play fly-on-the-wall for
their presentation at the show. At
this point in the
presentation they discuss their upcoming
Mantle API, claiming for the record that they've seen an up to 45% framerate
increase in Battlefield 4 using the same hardware under the new API. They
offer a little BF4 gameplay footage to show this off, but there is no footage
not using Mantle for comparison (oddly, the tidbit they show had two visible
full-stop hitches). They brag that Mantle development is booming, with three
engines working on integration at five developers, encompassing 20+ games. The
patch to enable Mantle support in BF4 is expected
sometime this month. Thanks
PCGamesN.

Unlike nVidia who threw a hissy fit over physx, AMD isn't pulling that BS. Funny thing is...you could even use a nvidia card beside a ati/amd card and have it work. Until nvida threw a super-hissy fit and blocked physx from working if it detected a amd card.

Well monopolistic behavior isn't called such because anyone can do it.

InBlack wrote on Jan 9, 2014, 08:10:I dont see how ATI trying to up the ante by bringing another API to the table so that developers have the option to develop on it is somehow inducive of the sky falling or some such catastrophe??

Do a little research people before throwing feces around. This isnt PhysX, this isnt simply a driver update. Its a whole diferent API which is supposed to circumvent the bloated fuckshow slowass piece of shit which is DirectX.

Sure it might all be a bag of cocks for all we know, but at least the option is on the table and developers can choose to support it or not.

*disclaimer* I own an Nvidia card just in case anyone wants to accuse me of fanboism...

Thing is, there's always been the option to code for OpenGL, which also means that your engine wouldn't be tied to a Windows platform, and would make it easier for a game to be compiled for Linux, or any other number of platforms that support OpenGL (which is almost all).

True dat. But OpenGL is on par with the slow as fuck DirectX and maybe even a little slower and its significantly harder to work with.

InBlack wrote on Jan 9, 2014, 08:10:I dont see how ATI trying to up the ante by bringing another API to the table so that developers have the option to develop on it is somehow inducive of the sky falling or some such catastrophe??

Do a little research people before throwing feces around. This isnt PhysX, this isnt simply a driver update. Its a whole diferent API which is supposed to circumvent the bloated fuckshow slowass piece of shit which is DirectX.

Sure it might all be a bag of cocks for all we know, but at least the option is on the table and developers can choose to support it or not.

*disclaimer* I own an Nvidia card just in case anyone wants to accuse me of fanboism...

Thing is, there's always been the option to code for OpenGL, which also means that your engine wouldn't be tied to a Windows platform, and would make it easier for a game to be compiled for Linux, or any other number of platforms that support OpenGL (which is almost all).

I dont see how ATI trying to up the ante by bringing another API to the table so that developers have the option to develop on it is somehow inducive of the sky falling or some such catastrophe??

Do a little research people before throwing feces around. This isnt PhysX, this isnt simply a driver update. Its a whole diferent API which is supposed to circumvent the bloated fuckshow slowass piece of shit which is DirectX.

Sure it might all be a bag of cocks for all we know, but at least the option is on the table and developers can choose to support it or not.

*disclaimer* I own an Nvidia card just in case anyone wants to accuse me of fanboism...

DukeLeeto wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 20:03:My god, it's 3dfx and glide all over again.

For that to be true, you'd need to have AMD cockblocking like nvidia is doing with physx. Which isn't happening at the moment, unless nvidia decides to throw another hissyfit and block their cards from working with mantle then it could happen. Though that might be a huge boon for AMD now wouldn't it?

--"For every human problem, there is a neat, simple solution; and it is always wrong." --H.L. Mencken

The company also indicated that one of the benefits of using Mantle would be leveraging optimization work from next-generation game consoles to PCs, and new rendering techniques. Thus, with direct access to all GPU features, developers can unlock higher graphics performance on consoles and gaming rigs with GCN-based GPUs.

Unlike nVidia who threw a hissy fit over physx, AMD isn't pulling that BS. Funny thing is...you could even use a nvidia card beside a ati/amd card and have it work. Until nvida threw a super-hissy fit and blocked physx from working if it detected a amd card.

--"For every human problem, there is a neat, simple solution; and it is always wrong." --H.L. Mencken

HorrorScope wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 16:10:I don't get the fractioning part. It's not like there is going to be BF5 that wont work on NVidia, sure you may have to uncheck Mantle, but it will still play and look good doing so.

Of course it will work, but if you want the benefits of Mantle, you need to have an ATI card. and if you want the benefits of Phys-X (tiny as they are) you need an Nvidia card. And if you want the benefits of G-Sync, you need an Nvidia card. And I'm sure AMD will come up with yet another thing that only benefits their users.

I'm ok with that, it gives me a reason to read reviews and specs. If something is mind-blowing good and taking over the other will step up and match it.

too loud, too hot blah blah, cost them sales? I thought they were sold out like crazy because of the miners. Which sales lost are you talking about when they are sold out always???

DangerDog wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 16:21:

ldonyo wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 12:31:

Ozmodan wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 12:23:Can't get excited about anything from AMD atm, the company is not doing well. I buy strictly Nvidia for that reason.

You mean not doing well aside from returning to profitability and providing the chips for both the PS4 and Xbox One? I'll take that kind of not doing well every time.

It's going to take AMD a long time to even break even on PS4 and Xbone chip sales. They completely botched the release of their Hawaii GPU's, releasing the 290/290x with reference cooler designs was beyond stupid and something they should have learned from past experience to be avoided at all cost. Too hot, too loud and reports of not performing to spec cost them sales.

The best part of AMD releasing a new part was it drove down the price of Nvidia cards.

Creston wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 17:30:Of course it will work, but if you want the benefits of Mantle, you need to have an ATI card. and if you want the benefits of Phys-X (tiny as they are) you need an Nvidia card. And if you want the benefits of G-Sync, you need an Nvidia card. And I'm sure AMD will come up with yet another thing that only benefits their users.

HorrorScope wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 16:10:I don't get the fractioning part. It's not like there is going to be BF5 that wont work on NVidia, sure you may have to uncheck Mantle, but it will still play and look good doing so.

Of course it will work, but if you want the benefits of Mantle, you need to have an ATI card. and if you want the benefits of Phys-X (tiny as they are) you need an Nvidia card. And if you want the benefits of G-Sync, you need an Nvidia card. And I'm sure AMD will come up with yet another thing that only benefits their users.

PC Gaming is at its best when technology is being driven forward for everyone, not for the select few who happen to have piece of hardware XYZ in their system.

I'm happy to see advancement anywhere I can get it. I would say Steam OS does more fractioning than this optional feature.

Why? If you have Steam OS, you can still run Windows and vice versa. Nobody is going to be releasing games solely for Steam OS, they will launch games for both. That has no relation to having either an AMD card or an Nvidia card.

After due diligence of DICE fixing PC BF4 multi-player, the game DOES run better overall. Albeit, some minor audio loading issues on a few levels, it's far better than what it used to be.

Food for thought regarding Mantle; where it may all lead? The day will come when the "now loading" screen in video games and software will cease to exist. One may ask how this will be done. Dare i say through crystals. Whether photonic or quartz-based, it's coming. If one was to calculate time lost by humankind over the last 30 years due to "now loading", it would be staggering.